


buzzcut season

by stupidocupido



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Based on a Lorde Song, Does not follow canon at all, F/M, Threats of Violence, end of the world kinda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26516122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidocupido/pseuds/stupidocupido
Summary: She can’t hear the explosions when her head is under water. He can pretend the sounds of violence come from the television. How can the world be a nasty place when skies are blue and her pool is clean? How can the world be in a crisis when the grass of her garden is still green? It’s always easier to pretend things are okay anyway.Four old friends meet again in desperate times. Discussing what exactly went wrong all those years ago...
Relationships: (past) Archie Andrews/Veronica Lodge, (past) Jughead Jones/Betty Cooper, Archie Andrews/Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones/Veronica Lodge
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	buzzcut season

**Author's Note:**

> Written around the song buzzcut season by Lorde. Alternate title: nothing's wrong when nothing's true.

_“I remember when your head caught flame_ _, it kissed your scalp and caressed your brain._

_‘Well’, you laughed, ‘baby, it's okay. It's buzzcut season anyway’.”_

Inside the gated community life always had been different. You know who your neighbours are, but you barely see them. Not because the residents are loners, simply because the distance between the mansions is too big. They see each other maybe every two months when the community discusses how things are going.

Every mansion has its own pool, because the weather is always hot enough for it to be used. Summer never ends in the west, or at least it feels like that when you moved from the east.

Veronica her favourite season used to be winter. It was when she was sixteen and living in a small town famous because of its drama. She used to love how the world would turn white and how she could wear her thickest coats. She loved the way Archie would warm her cold hands between his and how Betty would always buy her hot chocolate. She remembers laughing at Jughead’s attempts at ice skating. And no matter how funny it looked when he fell, she would always be worried for him.

Not many people escape Riverdale, but she did when she moved back to New York. When she lived in New York fall had become her favourite season. Long walks in Central Park, her dark hair wet with raindrops and cheeks rosy from walking too fast. She used to love how her world would transform into this golden-brown paradise when October fell. How her small dorm room would be filled with all the people she loved. Until their visits became less and less frequent and all she had were her new friends. Veronica remembers being happy when fall ended. And when the world grew cold again, so did she. She learned herself to not care about her old friends not returning. Because in the end, nothing last forever. Fall being proof of that. When winter fell without the snow years later, Veronica was grateful for it. Shivering in a thin coat, with the skin beneath her nails turning blue, she had decided that she should leave where she once was happy. They had given her the opportunity to work in the west, something she wouldn’t even considered before.

But people change like the seasons change the cities. So now she loves summer, because summer never had given her pain. Summer is blue skies and a bright sun. Summer is transparent and honest, summer never betrayed her, never disappointed her.

Veronica lounges next to the pool, her dark eyes hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses. She is observing the scene in front of her. Veronica is not one to forget, but years of being away did make the ache go away. Maybe it was nostalgia, maybe it is her being curious. But Veronica had agreed to meet up with her former friends this summer. They all would come to her place. And as usual, he was the first one to arrive.

Despite the Californian heat, Jughead still wears his worn grey sweater. But his pants are in a better state then when he was younger, and he no longer wears converse sneakers. His hair is shorter, and he is wearing glasses now. But Veronica can’t help it, the way he is purging his lips reminds her so much of high school and the boy who always wore a beanie. He is sitting in the shadows, a laptop placed upon the glass table in front of him. He is typing, but Veronica knows it is not fiction he is typing nowadays.

They all had dreams when they graduated, but none of them had the future they thought they would have.

After Riverdale there was New York. And after New York there was a big mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Veronica her life seemed to be all about moving. Forward, backwards, she can’t not be in motion.

Veronica always wanted to start her own business. With a father like hers it’s simply impossible to not want control in life as well. She wasn’t exactly sure what kind of business back then, only that she never wanted to work beneath someone else. In a way Veronica succeeded, but not in the traditional way she had wished to succeed.

It all started with a video. A video she had put online for Archie even. It was silly video about New York in the winter. She thought it would funny to visit all her favourite places in the city and comment in a funny way why it was her favourite. She hoped it would make Archie feel closer to her. And he had liked it a lot and so had 130,000 other people five days later.

Veronica went viral. And like the businesswoman she is, she decided to profit from her sudden stardom. Veronica was sure it wouldn’t last that long anyway, she herself doesn’t even remember the last person who went viral. But to her and maybe everyone’s surprise, people kept watching her videos.

While her professional life was climbing, her social life was falling. Relationships were abandoned and betrayals happened. Years later Veronica still refuses to talk about all of it.

So that is how she ended up in the city of Los Angeles when she graduated four years later. With companies paying her to promote their products, with brands that want her as their face. Her own merch sells pretty well, but she also makes money through collaborations with other brands. She doesn’t do that too much now, because Veronica knows that being an influencer won’t keep her bank accounts filled forever. So, she decided to start some sort of agency for upcoming talents. She knows enough people in the industry by now to make others successful.

In a way she had ended up where she had wanted to be all those years ago. But it was not how she imagined it to be.

Jughead finally looks up from his laptop to find her stare. Veronica does not look away, neither is she ashamed for being caught. It’s been maybe two and half years since they last saw each other, but a lot had changed since then.

Jughead always wanted to write novels, but he ended up writing clickbait articles for websites that make money on advertisement. He had been stuck in the same position for a long time, drifting further and further away from the wish to write something _real_. Having dreams is a beautiful thing. But dreams won’t buy you food or pay the rent.

Veronica still thinks it was because he didn’t want to leave New York behind. The city where he once saw himself being successful. Now he lives in Seattle, far away from New York and far away from Riverdale. The two of them were never destined to stay in that town anyway.

Now Jughead writes for a newspaper. One that publishes online and offline. It’s better than writing about ten ways to find your soulmate, but it is not even close to his actual dream job.

Jughead must hate her. Hate her for having the mansion in the hills, hate her for the connections he wishes he had. But he gives her half of a smile still, closing his laptop in a careful manner.

“Don’t you want to join me in the sun?” Veronica tries to keep the tone of her voice light. She doesn’t really know what else to talk about. She rather avoids the much heavier memories from their past.

Jughead ignores her, he is watching her instead. With his head tilted and eyes focuses on her face. Veronica is glad she’s wearing her shades, now he can’t see what she’s really thinking.

“Why did you agree to this meet up? You know Betty only suggested it to be polite. They were supposed to be in the area anyway.”

Veronica sighs, classical Jughead. Not seeing the signs, always going straight to where she would rather not talk about. But maybe he _does_ see the signs, because after all he always was the one who knew what to say when she wanted to stay silent.

“We used to be friends. How can I ignore the fact that I used to love both of them?” Veronica does not lie. No matter how much she might dislike a person who wronged her, she could never ignore the fact that once they made her happy. Archie had made her happy and Betty also had made her happy. That’s maybe why the betrayal had felt as painful as it had.

Veronica shakes her head, stretching her legs out. She does not miss the way his eyes slide over her body now. “Why are you here? If you hate the sun so much, you should’ve stayed in Seattle.” She removes her sunglasses; one eyebrow is arched.

Jughead sighs. “You know why I am here.”

Veronica shakes her head, not ready for that conversation yet.

“No, I don’t.” She puts the sunglasses back. Looking at the sky and nothing else. She rather has the past where it should be. Not repeated in the present.

\--

Betty and Archie are late. And that never happens. It’s already evening, and the two old friends just had their dinner. Left over pasta from the night before. Veronica had planned for them to go out for dinner, but the couple still hadn’t arrived by the time it was seven. Now it’s almost eight and Jughead is about to message Archie again. Veronica is desperate enough to turn the television on. She never watches the news nowadays; she doesn’t like to know what is happening in the world. Not when all that happens is so far away from where she lives.

It is twenty-three minutes before the clock strikes nine that there is someone outside her gates. When Veronica answers the intercom, all she hears is the panic in Betty’s voice. Veronica feels a feeling of unease washing over her. And when she looks at Jughead, she can see her own emotions mirrored on his worried face.

They stumble inside, their bags falling to the ground. Before Veronica can say anything about their lateness, she sees how they look. They both look like they’ve been to war. The smell of smoke and fire came with them inside. Veronica knows what this means, it’s the same image she’s seen so many times on the news the past couple weeks.

“There were so many people outside. With fires, with guns. And everyone was fighting and-“ Betty talks, tears still in her eyes.

Jughead has already walked towards the bleeding redhead. Veronica can’t move, too shocked by what she’s seeing. The couple their clothes is shredded at some points. Betty has a bruise on her cheek and Archie face is black with grime. The wound above his right eye is still bleeding. They both look like they just barely escaped the rebels.

“They were throwing Molotov’s and Archie jumped in front of me before it could fall on me.” Betty looks like she’s about to cry. Jughead is still holding onto Archie, checking the wound above his eye.

“I didn’t know they were fighting here too.” Veronica her voice doesn’t even sound like her own. “Come, let us go to the bathroom. So you guys can clean up.”

\--

“At least I wore a jacket, so I am not completely burned.” Archie says it like it’s a joke. Veronica loves and hates him for it. Ever the optimist.

Now that they’re both cleaned up they look less terrifying. The wound on Archie’s head is taped and Betty’s bruise will probably be gone in a few days too. Jughead watches Archie with a glint in his eyes.

“Do you have some sort of trimmer?” Jughead asks. Betty shakes her head before Veronica can even answer.

“Why do you need one?”

“I don’t know, maybe because half of Archie’s hair is burned from his head?” Veronica’s eyes automatically go to Archie’s head. Jughead is being dramatic, there are only a few shorter spots on the back of his head.

“There is no need for that at all!” Betty disagrees.

“I have a trimmer.” Veronica ends their discussion before it even can start. “Jughead, can you show them the way to my kitchen while I get it?”

Veronica sometimes forgets that Jughead and Betty used to date. They were in a way a perfect match, but also in a way they couldn’t be more different. Veronica only cared about the image the four of them would have back then anyway. She only used to care about the double dates and the friendship goals they must have been. The four of them were what every teen movie was made of.

How wrong she was. She swallows the bitter taste in her mouth away before her thoughts can grow bitter too.

Archie is already sitting on one of her chairs. Betty is leaning against the counter, her hands balled into fists. Jughead his mouth is a thin line; he is standing beside Archie. Veronica can basically feel the tension in the air. Did they have an argument again? Or is it just her that feels tense?

“It’s been a while since it was used, but it should still work.” She hands Jughead the trimmer.

She looks away when the first red locks fall to the marble floor. Instead she moves towards Betty. She hands Betty a clean towel from a cabinet so she can clean her face. She then fills four glasses with water for all of them. She takes her own glass in both hands. This is not how she expected this evening to go. She stares outside the window; the sun is setting and the lights inside her pool are turned on. She expected there to be _some_ drama. But not like this. Her hands are starting to shake, she doesn’t want to think about what is happening outside. She places her glass on the counter before anyone can notice her distress.

“You should drink something.”

The two former best friends watch how Jughead shaves Archie’s head without speaking another word with each other. Quietly sipping from their cold water, as the floor becomes covered with red hair.

\--

Gently Veronica touches Archie’s scalp. It now looks as if his head is covered in some sort of red dust. His thick hair still lies on the ground, in the background she can hear Betty ask for something to clean it up with. But she doesn’t think about the mess and she ignores the burning smell that comes from the boy who made her fall in love with winter.

His skin is burned at some places, but it will heal. It seems that the couple was very lucky. She lets her hands on his head still. His brown eyes remind her of fall and broken hearts. Of amber coloured whiskey and paths covered in golden leaves. Her hand goes down, cupping his cheek. She almost feels regret, Archie is even more beautiful than when he was a teen. Even without his luscious locks, he is a pleasant sight for sore eyes. There is an understanding between the two of them now. A connection that despite everything that had happened, could never be broken.

Her smile is soft, when she let’s go of his face. The tone of her voice gentler than it had been in ages.

“Well, at least you look good no matter what hairstyle.”

Archie let’s out a surprised laugh, his hands finally moving up to touch his head. Veronica turns her back on him, watching her other former friends. Betty her laugh is slightly maniacal, whereas Jughead stays silent. Veronica watches him, her expression urging him to say something as well.

“Well, and it’s buzzcut season anyway.” Jughead let’s his hands go through his own dark locks. “Maybe I should buzz my hair as well.”

And the way Veronica looks at Jughead after the sentence leaves his mouth, makes Betty spit out her water in laughter.

“I need a drink.” Jughead mumbles, before heading towards her living room.

\--

“Betty, another glass of wine?” She nods towards the empty glass. “Oh, Veronica, _yes_ , thank you.” She can still hear the laugh in Betty’s voice. There was no longer this weird tension, and Veronica is starting to get used to Archie’s new hair. She can’t even smell the fire now that the couple had changed into clean clothing. The evening doesn’t feel entirely ruined; she might even say she’s having fun.

“I’ll help.” Jughead stands up before Veronica can refuse him. He takes the empty beer bottles with him. At least he’s being useful, Veronica thinks darkly to herself.

In the kitchen Jughead’s hand is closed around her wrist, a drunk smile on his handsome face. “What you did there was really nice.” Veronica smiles, removing her wrist from his grip. “Providing all of you with drinks is kind of my job, Jughead.”

Jughead let’s out a laugh, shaking his head. “No, I mean the jokes, the talking about reality tv and making sure Betty and I don’t fight.”

Veronica her smile is careful. “It’s what I do.” It indeed is what she does, pretending nothing is going on. Making jokes instead of offering real support. Just like she pretends the world can’t hurt her, she likes to pretend her friends never did either.

And that is how they end their night, being drunk on wine and a marble floor still covered with red hair. The events of before almost forgotten, because inside Veronica’s gated community, the firing of guns cannot be heard.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. This is my first fic for this pairing, and I enjoy writing about them a lot.


End file.
